People had wanted a change in political leadership, and he felt a strong measure of community support, he said.
He also felt a sense of vindication relating to things he had opposed in the past three years.
One of those was a manoeuvre by the Dunedin City Council that cast doubt on whether State Highway 1 should remain a pair of one-way routes in the central city.
It was clear to Mr Radich the city’s population overwhelmingly wanted the one-way system to stay and the city council was therefore out of line when it pushed for consideration of an alternative design introducing two-way traffic.
Also riling a lot of people were aspects of a revamp of the city’s main shopping street, George St.
It was George St that provided momentum for the formation of Mr Radich’s Team Dunedin political ticket last year. Even as construction work was being carried out, the revamp remained an issue as people cast their votes in the 2022 council election.
On October 8, soon after Mr Radich had been told he would ascend from one-term councillor to first-term mayor, he reflected on a campaign that seemed to involve a lot of listening.
Team Dunedin’s field of seven had demonstrated its ethos of "inclusive participation", embarking on active listening ahead of positive action, he said.
"What did people say? They said they weren’t being listened to."
In the end, four of the team would make it on to the new council, including incumbent councillor Andrew Whiley, Kevin Gilbert and George St retailer Brent Weatherall.
Mandy Mayhem and Cherry Lucas became first-term councillors and Bill Acklin returned to the table, having left it in 2013.
The new council seemed quite different from the previous one.
Also not making it back was two-term councillor Rachel Elder.
Former deputy mayor Chris Staynes and experienced councillors Mike Lord and Doug Hall had already decided not to seek another term.
Mr Hawkins said it had been "the most progressive council in the history of this great city".
The council had leaned to the political left and this tended to be reflected in transport policy and responding to climate change.
The election took place against a backdrop of Covid-19 wariness and restlessness, cost-of-living pressures and some irritation with the council’s ideological bent.
Left-leaning councillors kept their seats, but voters did not favour several viable centre-left candidates who might have joined them.
Before the election, the most prominent issue was probably Three Waters.
The council voted 8-7 in February to join a collective opposed to the Government’s plan for reform, which included setting up entities to take over functions from councils.
The council reversed the call a month later, 7-6, backing out of membership of Communities 4 Local Democracy after mana whenua had raised objections.
Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou and Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki made clear their disappointment with the council’s first decision by suspending their involvement in the council’s Māori participation working party.
Mr Hawkins, who was instrumental in the council’s U-turn, said the relationship with mana whenua was the city’s most important and the council had harmed this by signing up with a group whose engagement with iwi left a bit to be desired.
Cr Lee Vandervis framed the matter differently, saying the issue came down to whether councillors valued local democracy or accepted centralised control. He spoke out against the Government’s enthusiasm for co-governance, aimed at giving iwi some strategic influence or oversight.
The debates masked the council’s united front in expressing deep concern to the Government about aspects of its programme. Heading into next year, uncertainty remains about what will happen concerning management of a key council asset and service, but the 2023 general election should provide some clarity on that score.
The local impact of resource management reform might also become a little clearer next year.
One matter settled this year was a long-running dispute between Cr Vandervis and the council about its efforts to hold him accountable for a perceived problem with his conduct.
Cr Vandervis had remonstrated with a staff member about parking signage in 2019 and this led to a censure.
The courts did not agree with Cr Vandervis the process that led to his censure was unfair and he ended up being billed about $30,000 to help cover the council’s investigation and legal costs, which stretched to more than $112,000.
Cr Vandervis finished third in this year’s mayoral contest, ahead of Carmen Houlahan and behind Mr Hawkins and Sophie Barker.
Cr Barker, the highest-polling councillor, was appointed deputy mayor by Mr Radich.
He also had a round of interviews with members of the new council before assigning responsibilities.
Missing from the list of councillors who would chair committees or deputise were David Benson-Pope and Steve Walker.
A layer of contention was added to the situation when the Remuneration Authority rejected the council’s proposed councillor pay scale.
By year’s end, things had got a bit loose.
Somewhat convoluted language accompanied the mayor’s now-mild push for aspects of the George St revamp to be revisited.
It became apparent reinstating a groyne at St Clair Beach was likely less straightforward and more expensive than Mr Radich might have hoped.
It appeared the new administration needed to refocus before tackling next year’s work.
A resolution expected early next year should bring some certainty to the future of SH1 in the central city, as the area accommodates construction of a new hospital. The new council seems likely to advise Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency the one-way system should stay.
Other matters to be confronted this term include the council’s debt trajectory, settling on how it might assist development of facilities for performing arts and the future of Dunedin Railways.
Cr Vandervis, now chairman of the council’s finance and council-controlled organisations committee, has signalled he will be keeping a close watch on the performance of the council’s companies.
Mr Radich, less articulate than the previous mayor but more personable, still looks capable enough of leading a cohesive administration. But the mayor, who has pitched himself as a consensus-style leader, may need to work harder on clarity of message in 2023 while he drives his brand of positive action.
